Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our truly exceptional Royal Golden Safari originates from a small scale farm in Kenya and has long golden leaves that mingle with milk chocolate and cacao colored leaves. Toasted walnut and oaky notes are prominent with a light pear undertone. Cocoa notes are also present. This orthodox tea does not contain any pesticides. Our Royal Golden Safari is part of the “Teas 4 Trees” line of teas that pays tribute to Professor Wangari Muta Maathai by donating a portion of profits to environmental initiatives of small-scale tea farmers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OH… this Royal Golden Safari black tea from Butiki Teas is absolutely divine!
There is a prominent note of cocoa with a delightful undertone of caramel that dances on the tongue. And yes, the description does not lie: I also taste warm, toasty walnut and a delicious fruity undertone. I also taste notes of spice and oak.
The cup is sweet and so wonderfully complex. I love that with each sip I notice something different. The spiced notes I mentioned before are not what I’d call “spicy” but instead, it’s sort of a gentle warmth that you might liken to the flavor of a sweet potato that has been lightly seasoned with cinnamon. It doesn’t taste of a distinct spice, just that warm sort of flavor that is comforting and cozy.
It comes as no surprise that this would be a really delicious tea – after all, Butiki Teas continually impresses me with their outstanding quality and exceptional tasting tea. This tea is no different – the flavor is amazing and the quality is second to none. They are definitely one of my favorite tea companies for this reason. I highly recommend this one if you’ve not tried it yet!
Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Assam
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Premium Taiwanese Assam is sourced from Yuchih Township in Nantou County, Taiwan. Assam bushes were brought to Taiwan in the early twentieth century but have since been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station. The long dark chocolate-colored leaves produce a sweet fruity aroma. This malty tea has rich chocolate notes with notes of cinnamon, clove, and raisins.
Ingredients: Taiwanese Black Tea
Recommended Brew Time: 3 minutes
Recommended Amount: 2 teaspoons of tea for 8oz of water
Recommended Temperature: 212 F (boiling)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki Teas is one of my favorite black teas. The leaves of this tea are stunning! Twisty and wirey with almost a blue tone hue to them.
Some of you who read my updates on steepster may have already read a portion of this as I am using a part of my review from there.
The steeped cup is a lovely deep golden amber tone and smells of sweet potato and chocolate. This cup is DELICIOUS! If you are not used to really high quality amazing tea like this just understand – this is not your mother’s or grandmother’s Lipton tea! Haha, my grandmother, bless her heart would drink that instant powdered tea daily, you know the stuff that came in the glass jar with the green lid. Today it is probably in plastic but regardless – this is a true delight and anyone who is even considering trying a different black tea should give this one a go!
There is a very sweet aspect to the tea, it has notes of sweet potato pie, even a bake-y element to it but it is not that sweet – not like as if someone spooned sugar into the cup – just a very natural sweetness. There are strong notes of chocolate and also notes of honey. A very rich cup yet the mouthfeel is bright and cheery. It is not too heavy or syrupy.
The only regret I have is that I did not try this tea sooner. It has become one of my stash favorites. It has a permanent home in my tea cabinet.
There is a slight very light note of cinnamon or some kick of spiciness here but nothing that would cause those who are spice shy to shy away from. There is also a bit of a saffron note!
As the tea cools a bit it does become slightly thicker with a heavier mouthfeel and notes of maple syrup begin to peek through.
I know it sounds like I am talking about a dessert not a tea yet this is not a dessert tea but rather a wonderful black tea that anyone would love!
The only downside I have found to this tea is that when steeping western style, it does not re-steep very well. However if you opt for gong fu style steeping it holds up to many steeps giving you layers of wonderful notes to discover cup by cup.
Peach HoppiTea Custom Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Organic Guranse
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Azzrian’s Custom Blend via Butiki Teas.
This blend was inspired by a beer I used to love drinking.
It was a lambic beer sweetened and flavored with peaches.
Thus we took an organic guranse and mixed in cascade hops, peaches, and peach flavoring.
All organic, all delicious!
Learn more about this tea from Steepster reviews here.
Request your own custom blend via email by clicking here. Just tell Stacy you would like to create your own custom blend and shoot her your general idea – she will get back to you to continue the communication!
Taster’s Review:
Peach HoppiTea Custom Blend from Butiki Teas is exactly what I wanted in my blend! This review is not only for this tea but also for Stacy of Butiki Teas and her amazing customer service when it comes to custom blending!
Stacy of Butiki Teas and I communicated via email for weeks developing my dream tea. I knew I wanted a tea modeled after my favorite Lambic brew. It was a peachy, sweet, and hoppy beer. What Stacy created not only brought back that exact flavor but she did so in a natural, organic way that makes this tea just BURST with ripe juicy flavors! Now I know many of us tea drinkers love to eat our tea! We pick out the pieces of fruit, nuts, herbs, etc from our steeped leaves and chew on them. Often times we end up spitting it out due to being either bitter, or chemical tasting, or whatever but when I pick out the big, sweet, juicy peaches from my spent leaves, they are so very very good! Just like I picked them from a tree in an orchard! This flavor is not only noticeable in the aroma of the cup but in every single sip! Big, ripe, juicy, natural, bursting with flavor peaches!
The hops, they are not bitter as many people think of bitter, they don’t make you pucker up like eating a sour candy. They are herbaceous, a tart sharp note on the middle back part of the tongue. Granted it is probably going to be a note that not everyone loves but even those who did not love that specific note have really enjoyed the blend and have made note of the freshness of the peaches. You can see other’s reviews on this tea on steepster which is linked above.
I could go on and on forever about my special custom blend and yes you can order it if it speaks to you but what I want to point out even more in this review is Stacy, her tea company, and the process of your own custom blend.
Now there are several companies that do the custom blend thing. Only a couple that do it in an interesting way. Most custom blends are made by selecting some elements from a drop down menu and thats it. Now not to knock those types of custom blends as I actually have made quite a few from various companies and have loved them! The difference here however is that Stacy will really work with you one on one over a period of time, until the exact idea of your blend is captured and you agree with the outcome!
From the moment I sent Stacy my request we were in communication about every element from the flavoring, the base tea to be used, and so on. Then on top of that Stacy sent me samples of different base teas to try to help me choose which one to use in my blend. Then she would send me samples of various stages of the blend itself! Sometimes more than one mixture using different bases with the peaches and hops or different flavoring components for me to consider. I think it took about a month from the time of inception to the finished product but what the outcome became is perfection!
There is a sweetness that was imperative in this blend yet the only sweetener in this tea are the peaches themselves! The hops are the exact species I had asked for, and the base works in perfect harmony.
I received my custom blend months ago and loved it then but what I am surprised at is now, months later, it is even better! Almost as if it needed to age to come to full maturity and show me everything it has to offer! Anytime you have a custom blend there is a period of time you should wait before drinking it all up as flavors do need to meld a little but I think by waiting even longer the peaches really were able to share their sweetness, meld together with the bitter hops, and thus bring forth everything desired in this blend.
The blend is all organic and also vegan! I quote Stacy of Butiki Teas: “Yep, gluten-free. It has gluten-free flavoring, gluten-free peach bits and hops. The facility is not gluten-free but we are careful not to cross contaminate.”
I would absolutely ask Stacy to make me a custom blend again in the future and I will always want this tea in my permanent stash!
Cantaloupe & Cream Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
The sweet cream notes of our Organic Bai Mu Dan compliment the cantaloupe and cream notes. This tea starts with vegetal and floral notes that quickly develop into mouth watering cantaloupe and cream notes. Try with our Brown Crystal Sugar for a sweet dessert treat. Our Cantaloupe & Cream won 3rd place in the Flavored White Tea category of the 2012 Spring Hot Tea Class at the North American Tea Championship.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh yum! Seriously … this is so very good! No big surprise, really, because I can’t think of any tea from Butiki Teas that I’ve really disliked … but, what does surprise me is how long it took me to get around to trying this amazing tea! It is so good!
From the moment that I poured the hot water into my teapot to start the infusion process, I knew I was in for a treat. A strong melon note filled the kitchen! It smelled as though I had just cut into a fresh cantaloupe (although, I guess the proper term would be muskmelon – as from what I understand, here in the US the melons we think of as cantaloupe are actually muskmelon).
The first few sips possess stronger notes of cream than of cantaloupe, and this cream taste is reminiscent of fresh, raw milk. I’ve only had fresh, raw milk maybe a handful of times in my lifetime, and all of these occasions were in my youth, but my memories of these occasions are fond. I really liked it. It might not have been as safe for me to drink as homogenized milk, but, I’m still alive and kicking, so it must not have been too bad for me.
Just before I reach the “mid-cup” point, the flavors begin to shift a little bit, with the creamy notes waning and the cantaloupe emerging into the forefront. YUM! Sweet, juicy cantaloupe!
This blend also includes helichrysum blossoms, and this is a flower that I have no experience with (at least, none that I can recall) and I don’t know how much flavor this flower contributes to the overall cup. I will say, though, that it does add a bit of beauty to the dry leaf.
What a combination of flavors! Usually when I’ve eaten cantaloupe, it has either been on its own or with other fruits as part of a fresh fruit plate, but, I don’t think I’ve ever had cantaloupe and cream before … and it’s really good. I might just have to indulge in something like this once cantaloupe is in season again.
Delicious!
The Killer’s Vanilla from Butiki Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Guayusa
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tisane Description:
Don’t let the name fool you, this guayusa is subtle and calming but it is deceptive in its high caffeine content which creates a relaxed yet alert feeling. Lavender, mint, and vanilla are well balanced and come together for a light and earthy treat. Add a little sugar and the flavors come to life. The creamy vanilla, gentle mint, and relaxing lavender mingle and fight for attention but ultimately the vanilla is the strongest. This guayusa was inspired by a song that we adore, The Killer’s Vanilla by Amon Tobin, one of our favorite artists to listen to while blending tea. For more information on the naming of this guayusa check out our blog .
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
To the eye, this doesn’t really look all that special. It looks like most other Guayusa tisanes that I’ve seen.
To the nose, it smells like creamy vanilla with a earthy overtone and a distant note of mint … and an even more subtle hint of flower. So subtle, in fact, that it is difficult to discern that what I’m smelling is lavender (one of my favorite florals, especially when it comes to tea!) This tisane actually smells a little weird … but in a very intriguing kind of way.
To the tongue, this tastes really good! It is interesting and different with every sip. In one sip, I’ll notice a strong vanilla note, and in the next, I’ll notice the rich earthiness of the guayusa and notes of mint. Then in the next sip, I’ll notice the lavender as the prominent taste. I love that it seems to change with every sip … offering me different flavors to explore.
The guayusa has less of a vegetative taste than the aroma would lead me to believe, it tastes more earthy … imagine pouring half a cup of coffee and topping off the cup with yerba mate, and then you added the essences of vanilla, mint and lavender … this sort of tastes the way I’d imagine that cup would taste. There’s lots of flavor to enjoy here!
I love this tisane … and while this cup has been a complete surprise from start to finish, one thing that doesn’t surprise me is that I do love this. Butiki Teas never fails to impress me, and it seems like I fall in love all over again with each new cup I try from this company.